I’m sure I’ve used that quote before, so I apologise if I’m being boring. Here’s the full poem for those of you who want to read the rest. Like the days of wine and roses, it is not long. The title, in contrast, is longer than most haiku.
When I was looking for quotes on the swift passing of time, I couldn’t find one that felt right, so it was back to the reliable Dowson yet again.
The subject was on my mind on the way home today as it was definitely shirt sleeve weather and spring was in the air.
We have a number of domestic projects to get through this summer and I am aware that one sixth of the year has nearly gone. It’s a worry because this has happened before. One day it’s February and the next time you think about it, it’s September and we still don’t have the upgraded heating system or the new kitchen we’ve been promising ourselves for years
Today absolutely flew by, with plenty going on – parcels to pack, coins to sort and customers to serve. It was one of my more enjoyable days in the shop, which has been a bit grim recently. It’s nothing to do with the shop – it’s just that I still haven’t really adjusted to not being my own boss. Or to working with someone who gradually accumulates, and defends, all the stationery in the shop.
I had arrived at the point where I wasn’t really enjoying work and was giving serious thought to employing some of the knowledge gained from decades of reading crime novels. I’m just about to start a new book on my Kindle…
![The Royal Art of Poison: Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicines and Murder Most Foul by [Herman, Eleanor]](https://i0.wp.com/images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51gF77ycyhL.jpg?w=625&ssl=1)
nice poem, thanks, I’ll be reading it at my poetry club next week. And nice piece of writing about Dowson’s poem.
Vitae Summa Brevis Spem Nos Vetat Incohare Longam
Ernest Dowson
The brief sum of life forbids us the hope of enduring long. –Horace
They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
Love and desire and hate:
I think they have no portion in us after
We pass the gate.
They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream.
Enjoyed this … add a haiku and you’ll have the makings of a haibun. Cheers, Ray Rasmussen
Thank you. I’ve often wondered if I should try to male my posts more poetic as practice. Unfortunately, some subjects don’t lend themselves to poetry. 🙂
Beautiful.
Beautiful crocuses!
Thank you.
Bring on the flowers! Still buried under snow in Maine. But the air is getting softer. Spring might not be here yet, but there is a hint.
Good to hear. Winter can be fine, but in the end it’s nice to see it go for another year.
Sure is!
Time goes faster as I get older!
Sure does!
for me nothing portrays the passing of time and its inevitability like Mary Oliver’s line in The Summer Day: Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Go for the daffodils!
Shamefully, I’d never heard of Mary Oliver. I’ve now read the poem – great poem and a superb line to sum it up. Ah, the educative influence of blogging!
I had never heard that poem, either, until a couple of years ago. I also heard it from a blogger; it made me cry then and it still makes me cry. I even used it in a post of my own. That line speaks to me.
I would love to write a line that simple but that powerful.
She recently died, but that line will last.
That’s the good thing about being a poet.
Stationery hoarding is certainly a capital crime.
I did think about stapling his hands to the desk…
“Days of wine and roses” – I like that! Yes, they are all too short. A beautiful patch of crocus you have there, Quercus! Give our best to Julia.
I will tell her. We ae planning to eat blueberry muffins in the Mencap garden tomorrow morning – I am after daffodil photos tomorrow.
Blueberry in any form is good!
Yes, that is true.